Premio Combat Prize 2024

Art.1 - PURPOSE

The Blob ART ETS Cultural Association has announced a prize competition for artists, with the aim of promoting and enhancing Contemporary Art. The competition involves the selection of 80 works, divided into five sections: Painting, Graphics, Photography, Video-Performance, Sculpture and Installation; the creation of an exhibition event; the publication of a catalogue; the awarding of cash prizes; six special prizes offered by Italian and international art galleries and one prize offered by the Poliart company. The exhibition of the finalist works, the voting and the awarding of the prizes will take place in Livorno at the "Museo Civico G. Fattori ex Granai di Villa Mimbelli" from 21 September to 5 October 2024 .

Art. 2 - ADMISSION CRITERIA

The competition is open to all contemporary artists of all nationalities. There are no age limits or thematic restrictions. The sections are:

PAINTING SECTION

Fundamental selection criteria will be the quality, research, originality and contemporaneity of the work. There will be no limitations on subject, technique or style, as long as it is a pictorial work. By pictorial work we mean any use or manual intervention in oil, tempera, acrylic, industrial paint, ink, engraving, graphite, watercolour, vinyl, on any type of support, including pre-printed ones; Techniques such as collage and multi-material applications are permitted. The maximum size allowed for each side of the work is 200 cm.

GRAPHICS SECTION - WORKS ON PAPER

In the Graphics section, works on two-dimensional, traditional or digital supports will be admitted. Fundamental selection criteria will be the quality, planning, research, originality and contemporaneity of the work. The following artistic techniques are permitted in the graphic section: drawing, watercolour, gouache, collage, digital drawing, works executed with various graphic techniques and the different types of flat, digital, relief, cable printing (Giclée, offset, xylography, engraving , lithography, screen printing etc.). The finalist works will be displayed on monitors or traditional two-dimensional supports (the maximum size allowed is 150 cm per side).

PHOTOGRAPHY SECTION

Fundamental selection criteria will be the formal quality and conceptual originality of the work, without subject limits. Digital and analogue, black and white or color photographs are permitted; through all the expressive modes of photographic art. The maximum size allowed for each side of the work is 200 cm.

SCULPTURE and INSTALLATION SECTION

Fundamental selection criteria will be the quality, research, originality and contemporaneity of the work. In the sculpture and installation section, works created with any material, raw or manipulated, with both traditional and innovative media, objects and expressive forms (sound art, kinetic installations, video and sound installations, etc.) are admitted. The works can be interactive and therefore understand mechanical or electrical movements, sounds, lights and videos, used individually or in combination. The entry of the work for the prize can be done via audio, photo or video file. The maximum space that can be used for the works is 3 meters base, 3 meters depth, 3 meters height.

VIDEO SECTION - PERFORMANCE

In the video section, works of video art and performance art, video research, abstract videos, video portraits, excluding fiction, are admitted. The minimum duration of videos must be 1 minute and can reach a maximum of 30 minutes.

Art. 3 - TERMS AND METHODS

Interested artists can register by April 30, 2024 , using one of the following methods:

a) ONLINE  On the page https://www.premiocombat.it/associazione you can access the registration form: within the form you can choose your section and upload the desired works.

b) POSTAL SENDING   By sending in a sealed envelope or delivering directly to the Prize secretariat (Blob ART cultural association, Via Luigi Boccherini, 22 - 57124 LIVORNO – ITALY):
- membership form
- short biographical note
- a photograph of each work (format max. 20x30 cm) specifying on the back the artist's name and surname, title, date, technique, dimensions.
Attach a copy of the payment of the registration fee.

Art. 4 - REGISTRATION FEE

The registration fee, to partially cover organizational costs, is set at 55 (fifty-five) Euros for 1 registered work and 35 (thirty-five) Euros for each subsequent work . It is possible to nominate multiple works, both within the same section and in different sections. By registering multiple works the payment will be cumulative. Payment of the registration fee must be made in Euros, without bank taxes or commissions paid by the Organization. The registration fee is non-refundable.

Payment of the registration fee can be made through:

- Online with credit card : PAY PAL
(if the credit card is not in the artist's name it is necessary to communicate this to info@premiocombat.it specifying the card holder and artist).

- Bank transfer : Banco Posta, LIVORNO branch
IBAN IT67 A076 0113 9000 0009 7568 935 - Bic/Swift BPPIITRRXXX
payable to: Blob ART CULTURAL ASSOCIATION with reason COMBAT AWARD, name and surname of the artist.

- Postal bulletin made out to: Blob ART Associazione Culturale c/c 97568935 with reason COMBAT PRIZE, name and surname of the artist.

- At the prize secretariat : Blob ART Cultural Association - Via Luigi Boccherini, 22 - 57124 Livorno

Art. 5 - BENEFITS

Registration for the 2024 Combat Prize entitles you to free activation of a BASIC account on the TOE Art Market platform for the promotion and sale of works of art . To activate the account on the platform you need to click on the link https://www.toeartmarket.com/register , then select the BASIC account and enter the promo code which will be sent via e-mail after registration.

Art. 6 - PUBLICATION OF WORKS

All the works of the participants in the Painting, Photography, Graphics, Video-Performance and Sculpture and Installation sections will be published on the site. For each artist, a card will be created containing the work in competition, plus any additional images of the same work or supporting works, with related captions, at no additional cost. The works completing the form can be entered free of charge after registering the works in the competition, but do not participate in the final selection. For those who do not wish to appear on the site with their works, it is possible to declare non-consent at the time of registration: the works, therefore, will not be visible publicly but only to the jury.

Art. 7 - JURY AND SELECTION

The selection of the finalist works will be carried out by an artistic jury made up of six members. After an initial selection of the applications for participation, the selected artists will be asked to send the work for the creation of a collective exhibition. The selected works will be 30 for the Painting section, 10 for the Graphics section, 20 for the Photography section, 10 for the Video - Performance section and 10 for Sculpture and Installation. The transport costs for sending and collecting the selected works are borne by the participants. Among the selected works, the jury will elect the winners of the Painting, Graphics, Photography, Video-Performance, Sculpture and Installation sections, of the Combat Award and of the Poliart Award. In the Special Awards, each independent gallery/space will independently, with respect to the award jury, select an artist from among the eighty finalists for the assignment of the Gallery awards. The decisions of the juries are final and unquestionable.

Art. 8 - PRIZES

The prizes will be divided as follows:

10,000 (ten thousand) Euros to the winner of the Combat Prize

Section awards:

1,500 Euros (one thousand and five hundred) to the winner of the Painting section *

1,500 Euros (one thousand and five hundred) to the winner of the Sculpture and Installation section *

1,500 Euros (one thousand and five hundred) to the winner of the Photography section *

1,500 Euros (one thousand and five hundred) to the winner of the Graphics section *

1,500 Euros (one thousand and five hundred) to the winner of the Video–Performance section *

* (the winning work will remain the property of the artist)

SPECIAL PRIZES

Gallery Award - Creation of a personal or collective exhibition or site-specific project, in the 2024-2025 exhibition season. The Special Awards will be created in collaboration with galleries and independent spaces which will be published on the website on the "Special Awards" page https://www.premiocombat.it/premi-speciali .

Special Poliart Award * - The company, leader in the processing of expanded polystyrene, will reward an artist selected among the finalists, supporting the production of a work.

* A withholding tax of 25% will be applied as a tax on all cash prizes, as required by law. The winning work of the Combat Prize will remain the property of the Blob Art cultural association. The winning works of the Painting, Sculpture/Installation, Photography and Graphics and Video - Performance and Poliart Prize sections will remain the property of the artists.

Art. 9 - SPECIAL PRIZE - GALLERIES

Each independent gallery/space, independently of the award jury, will select an artist from among the eighty finalists, to create a new collaboration according to a site-specific or show-only project. All exhibitions and events will be held in the 2024-25 exhibition season. The cultural association Blob Art will participate as an integrated press office in the realization of the project between the gallery and the winning artist and will assign a partial reimbursement of expenses to the gallery for the management of the event. The cultural association Blob Art will not be responsible in any way for the economic agreements and the type of event agreed between the gallery and the artist. Shipping, insurance and anything else necessary for the realization of the event will be established exclusively between the gallery and the winning artist. The awarded artists have the right to renounce the prize, but the renouncement excludes any other form of compensation or compensation from the gallery and the cultural association Blob Art.

Art. 10 - SPECIAL PRIZE - POLIART

The Poliart company , leader in the processing of expanded polystyrene, will reward an artist selected among the finalists, supporting the production of a sculptural/installation work. The technical production specifications are visible on the "Special Awards" page. The work will remain the property of the artist.

Art. 11 - PHASES AND DEADLINES

April 30 , 2024 is the last day to register for the prize.

Announcement of the 80 finalists by May 25, 2024 .

From 21 September to 5 October 2024 exhibition of the finalist works in Livorno at "Museo Civico Giovanni Fattori, ex Granai di Villa Mimbelli".

Saturday 5 October 2024 announcement and award ceremony of the winners.

Art. 12 - CATALOGUE

The catalog will contain the jury's texts in Italian and English. Copies of the catalog can be purchased during the final exhibition or directly online, on the publisher's website. A copy will be delivered free of charge to each of the 80 finalist artists, while it will be purchasable at a discounted price for the other artists participating in the prize.

Art. 13 - RESPONSIBILITY

The Blob ART Cultural Association, while ensuring the utmost care and custody of the works received, declines all responsibility for any theft, fire or damage of any kind to the works, which could occur during the phases of the event. Any insurance request must be signed by the Artist himself.

Art. 14 - CONSENT

Each candidate expressly authorizes the Blob ART Cultural Association, as well as its legal representative, to process the personal data transmitted pursuant to Law 675/96 ("Privacy Law") and subsequent amendments to Legislative Decree 196/2003 (Privacy Code). ), also for the purposes of inclusion in databases managed by the aforementioned persons. Each participant in the competition grants the Blob ART Cultural Association, as well as its legal representative, the reproduction rights of the works and texts awarded to the prize free of charge, for the purpose of drafting the catalogue, and any publication on the prize website and other forms of communication, promotion and activities of the organization. The material sent for registration will not be returned. The organizers of the competition will have the right to make the final decision on anything not specified in this announcement. The organization reserves the right to make changes to the announcement if the need arises. Membership and participation in the prize implies unconditional acceptance of all the articles of this announcement